Accreditation & Professional Credentialing
ISO Rating Information
We Are an ISO Class 2 Professional Fire Department
On September 10, 2019, the St. Albans Fire Department was awarded an Insurance Services Office (ISO) Property Protection Classification (PPC) rating of Class 2. This places our department in the top 5% in the country, and top 2% in West Virginia.
What is an ISO Rating?
ISO fire ratings are scores given to individual communities that are based on how equipped the area is to respond to fire emergencies. The two biggest factors the ISO takes into consideration are the reliability of your area’s fire department and the local water supply.
How are ISO Ratings Determined?
Each community’s ISO fire rating is determined by looking at
the four key components that play a role in your town’s ability to both prevent
and respond to fire emergencies:
| ISO Rating Component | What it Means |
|---|---|
| Fire department (50%) | Measures the quality of your local fire departments, including their equipment, pump capacity, engine companies, ladder companies, training, and personnel. |
| Water supply (40%) | Looks at the average size, type, and installation of fire hydrants in your area, plus the quality and frequency of hydrant inspections and testing. |
| Emergency communications systems (10%) | Measures the quality of your community emergency response (911) systems. |
| Community risk reduction (5.5%) | To win bonus points, the ISO looks at anything extra your community is doing to combat fires, including fire safety education, prevention, and investigation programs. |
After evaluating these four categories, the ISO totals the points and assigns a classification score between 1 and 10 — with Class 1 being the best and Class 10 being the worst.
How ISO fire ratings affect homeowner’s insurance rates
ISO fire ratings can provide communities with invaluable feedback about their fire protection services. And they also give communities incentives for having good fire departments — like lower home insurance costs. The cost of coverage in a community with a good ISO fire rating is generally lower than in a community with a bad ISO fire rating.
Recent Incident Stats Across by ISO Class
